Tenacious Motivation at Wedding & Portrait Photographers International aka WPPI

For those of you who are not familiar with the WPPI Convention it happens once a year in Las Vegas, Nevada and it's attendance has surpassed 10,000 people.

Some say it's spring break for photographers, but after my first WPPI, I feel it's more than just a party. Whether you are there to enhance your business practices, to learn how to be a better photographer, to find new products for your clients or to showcase your products, there is one thing we all walk away with. And that is motivation.

It gets us out of bed in the morning. It helps us edit thousands of images. It pushes us beyond all the monotonous tasks that we must do to run a photography studio. But most importantly it fuels us to pursue our dreams. And without a dream or a vision we consent to living an automatic life. 


Just before we left sin city, Jeff and Betsy of the ever fabulous La Vida Creations, had a genius idea: to stop and get our grub on at IN-N-OUT Burger. It didn't seem entirely original until we arrived. There were two IN-N-OUT Burger trucks sitting at the loading docks begging us to take their pictures! Jeff did the honors of ordering our scrumptious meals -- my french fries -- and Betsy and I took to the loading docks! We also made a couple of photo stops on our way back to San Diego. It was the perfect ending to a great convention!

My genetic bestowal for shoes

My husband, family and dog always come first, but my heart reserves a special corner for my love of shoes. It's like love at first sight; you have to sequester it or kiss it good-bye. Also I've learned that this fancy I have with shoes existed in me before birth; it was genetically bestowed upon me. My grandma's shoe cumulation puts many to shame, and as a youngster I looked forward to every sleep over at grandma's house, just so I could drown myself in her epic collection.

Just recently I journeyed to Fashion Valley, mainly to check out the
latest arrivals from Steve Madden.
But three stores later I drove home empty handed. No one had a size six of Bersh (the name of the shoe) in stock. On the drive home I realized that those shoes were not meant to integrate my wardrobe.

A month later a brown box smiled at me from the front door step. Usually I know what's inside, but this time I couldn't fathom what occupied its dimensions? Then I remembered our two year wedding anniversary was approaching, although it was a month early. As I moved closer to the mystery box, I read the address label and stood frozen in complete zest. You can see below what hid behind the brown walls of the cube. Each surprise transcends the next when Brian contrives them. For me the little surprises make my day, like when he comes home early or when he makes coffee for me, but I don't mind the big surprises either!

For those of you befuddled by the background, I put these fabulously designed shoes in the oven for this shot. I couldn't resist; they're so hot! =)